The Global Task Force on Expanded Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries (GTF.CCC) is a research and advisory initiative directed by the Harvard Global Equity Initiative, the Harvard Medical School, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the University of Washington and the University of Washington Medicine to address the global burden of cancer in developing countries. This initiative, originally convened in 2009 by four Harvard-based institutions including the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, comprises a network of more than thirty leaders in the fields of cancer and global health from around the world. GTF.CCC also draws on more than 50 technical and strategic advisors, a private sector engagement group, a strategic advisory committee, and a dual secretariat of staff based at the Harvard Global Equity Initiative and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Mandate The mandate of the GTF.CCC is to design, implement and evaluate innovative strategies for expanding access to cancer prevention, detection and care. The initiative focuses on the creation of global facilities and strategies for the financing and procurement of affordable, essential cancer drugs, vaccines and services for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and palliation. Through local partners, the GTF.CCC supports implementation of innovative service delivery models that provide evidence for scaling up access to cancer care and control, and strengthening health systems in developing countries. Justification Although once considered a problem exclusive to high-income countries, cancer is a leading cause of death and disability in the developing world. Of the 7 million cancer deaths in the world today, approximately 70% occur in developing countries. By 2030, low and middle income countries will bear the brunt of an estimated 27 million new cancer cases and 17 million cancer deaths. Case fatality for the cancers that can be treated or prevented is much higher in the developing world – a result of grave inequity in the opportunity to survive the disease. In the case of breast cancer, the ratio of deaths to incident cases in 2002 was an estimated 56% in low-income countries, 44% in low-middle income countries and 39% in high-middle income developing countries. In the developed world, it was 24%. The world faces a huge and largely unperceived cost of inaction from cancer in the developing world, which calls for an immediate and large-scale global response. Structure and Leadership The Task Force is a 36-member body combining leaders in cancer